NPR’s Science Friday interviews one of the first innovators of compost, Malcolm Beck. 

Detroit Free Press:

In neighborhoods nationwide, millions of dollars worth of Norway spruce and white pine trees are mysteriously turning brown and dying this summer, and the chief suspect is a new lawn chemical.

State officials and lawn care professionals say they think Imprelis, an herbicide introduced last year for commercial use by DuPont, may be attacking pines and spruces as if they were weeds.

Read the full story here

The Troy Garden Club will host the 2011 Troy Garden Walk on Wednesday, July 13, 9:30am-3pm and 5-8:30pm, rain or shine. The walk will feature 9 gardens, including a rare look at the Kresge Foundation landscape. Wear your dearest hat to participate in the favorite garden hat contest. There will also be a boutique including plants and art for sale at Troy Historical Museum. $12. For more information, call 248-540-4249 or visit www.troygardenclubmi.com.

From Associated Press via NPR:

Many of the millions of people who turned to gardening to save money during the recession appear to be sticking with it during the recovery as food prices remain high and interest in safe, fresh and local food grows nationwide.

Forty-three million American households planned to grow at least some of their own food in 2009, a 19 percent increase from the estimated 36 million who did the year before, said the National Gardening Association, citing the most recent figures available. Spending on food gardening — including growing vegetables, fruit trees, berries and herbs — jumped 20 percent in one year to $3 billion in 2009 and stayed at that level last year, said Bruce Butterfield, research director for the nonprofit association.

Read the full story here.

Many consumers these days are fixated on buying organic food. But, many of them don’t have much information on what is motivating their organic purchases other than, “it’s better for me.” With the recent release of the annual USDA report on pesticides, there is no better time than now to learn more about pesticides and organics as they relate to your fruit and vegetable choices.

There’s a “Dirty Dozen,” headlined by apples, celery and strawberries. And there’s also a catchy “Clean 15” of fruits and vegetables lowest in pesticides. The top three on that list: onions, sweet corn and pineapples.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) suggests that people buy organically grown fruits and vegetables for the varieties on its list of the most likely to carry pesticide residues. But the group also says the health benefits from produce mean that “eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.”

This story is well-timed as there is still time to plant several of the dirty dozen items in your own garden. In a couple months you could enjoy your own pesticide-free harvest!

Read the full story here at NPR

Botantists from the Smithsonian Institution teamed with engineers from Columbia University to create a handy tree identification application for smartphones.

Scientists have developed the first mobile app to identify plants by simply photographing a leaf. The free iPhone and iPad app, called Leafsnap, instantly searches a growing library of leaf images amassed by the Smithsonian Institution.

In seconds, it returns a likely species name, high-resolution photographs and information on the tree’s flowers, fruit, seeds and bark.

Read more about Leafsnap here and here in the Detroit News

In recent years you may have heard about the decline of the honey bee population (Colony Collapse Disorder) and the impact on agriculture. This issue impacts everyone as it directs affects our food supply. The most recent episode of Splendid Table featured an interesting interview with researcher Marla Spivak in which she explains the theories behind the decline.

Listen to the full story here…

Check out this recent story from NPR about Andrea Wulf and her new book, “Founding Gardeners: the Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation.”

As British troops closed in on New York City in the fall of 1776, Gen. George Washington had something crucially important on his mind. Congress had ordered him to hold the city, but on the eve of the battle, he set aside his maps and documents and began a letter to the steward of his estate, Mount Vernon, detailing the construction of a new garden.

“What is more remarkable than the timing, really, is that he’s asking for only native species,” author Andrea Wulf tells All Things Considered guest weekend host Linda Wertheimer. “As if he wants to create an all-American garden where no English tree is allowed to claw its roots in the soil.”

Read the full story and a book excerpt here…

The event calendar has been updated with dozens of events, classes and seminars. Be sure to check out the listing—there is something for EVERYONE! Be sure and tell them you read about it in Michigan Gardener!

NPR:

The old farmer stereotype of a white guy in overalls has at least one truth to it: The majority of farmers in the U.S. are white males. Yet a growing number of women are joining their ranks.

Women now run about 14 percent of the nation’s farms, up from only 5 percent in the 1980s. Most female-run farms tend to be smaller and more diverse, and many are part of the burgeoning organic and local foods movement.

Read the full story here…